"If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him." (Votaire)

"I do not agree with what you are saying, but I fight for the death in your right to say it." (Voltaire)

Without knowing why, I like Voltaire. I want to learn more of him. I even have seven plays of his, which are so narrowly distributed. Apart from anything he wrote, the man himself was to all ends a jumping soul. He knew how to stir things up. He knew how to seduce or how to aggravate. Yes, Voltaire had a sense of humour. But his social criticisms were important enough to land him in trouble. His twelve month stay at the Bastille was no comfort, though unlike other prisoners he had priviledges of everyday visitors.

On to Candide and Zadig. I never much liked Candide: it was too unbelievable and too episodic. Here, Voltaire shows that all is NOT for the best in 'the best of all the possible worlds.' The philosopher Leibnz, who held that our world is fine, is wrong says Voltaire. So, then, in the book he shows all the misfortune he can muster. But I came to see that Leibniz had meant, simply, that our world has possibility, growth, apparent free will, and a search-for-God. Even though things go wrong, this world is better than one of 'automatic goodness." T. S. Eliot urged the same thing to the behaviourist B. F. Skinner. Surely, then, the world is not so bad. The conditions, yes, but the gift of fighting for a greater good is of itself a greator good. Voltaire seems to have forgotten this, I think. And yet, he did not hate the world. He sneered to his France, but he lived in England for a year or two, where he praised English culture. Imagine a Frenchmen, of noteriety even, praising England, especially in that time! Voltaire had courage and is thus a kind of hero.

But Zadig I like: it had a gentle humour which can be read to small boys. It deals with morality, like the allegory of Adam and Eve do.Another story, called I think 'the Child of Nature' is as well smoothly written. It describes the development of a young man who discovers Christianity on the one hand, and Christendom on the other!

Voltaire has a touch of a poet in him. He can dress up language in clever little ways. One can tell, instantly, that he writes fast and wants to entertain. Some will say this wit not even Shakespeare had (at least not in person anyway).

His technique is satire: he likes to make fun of his enemy via mockery. He does not simply tell us freedom is the way, he goes on and on in bringing home the message that the men in power are laughable idiots.

Voltaire himself was a kind of showboat, with flashes of conceit I suspect. But I would have liked to have met the man. He seems to have known how to live fully.

I hope I have helped.

Although, perhaps, it wasn't ment to be, Volatire's work is uplifting. Sometimes a man faces something that enraged him to such a depth, he either has to cry or laugh about it. Its good to be able to laugh about injustice, betrayal, and every other inborn, basic flaw of the pompous human race we all have the pleasure to be part of. This is one of the best satires I've ever read.

Candide is one of my most favorite philosophical works because of the humor, honesty, and original perspective that Voltaire brings to this story. This translation is recommended because it also contains many other excellent works from Voltaire, such as Zadig and Micromegas. The translator's notes are very helpful, and in many cases shed light upon Voltaire's intended meaning when the English is not able to convey everything.

In complement to a more in-depth guide like the Michelin Green Guide, this Top 10 Guide will make you discover Paris as if you were a Parisian yourself: surprisingly clear, handy and complete information on restaurants, places of interest and other things to do and to see to enjoy the city and escape the hordes of tourists. I lived in Paris some years ago and I would not be surprised if this book becomes a classic for the Parisian themselves, even in the present English edition.

This book will guide you to the best of Paris.

I'm french, and I well know Paris. trust me, It's a real good job, even for french people.

I did travel to Europe a few weeks ago. I had only a few days in Paris, and I wanted to get the best of my stay in this wonderful city. Thanks to the guide, I enjoyed some charming walks, fine restaurants, and crazy night life. I bought some other guides before leaving, and none of them provided me with so helpful information. It is a must, and I would like to thank you once again the author...Great job, and voila (as they say in Paris)

Wonderful, wonderful book - it stands on its own as an enjoyable read about a mesmerizing woman (the author Francoise Gilot) and provides great insight into the phenomenon and genius of Pablo Picasso. The "total recall" in this book is truly amazing -- I found myself wondering through the first half of the book how could anyone remember in such detail situations, phrases, words from more than 20 years ago. But luckily for all of us Gilot does remember and, in addition, she's got a clear talent for writing, interesting personality, deep understanding and love for Picasso, individuality, strength and grace. The insights into Picasso's life and work together with Gilot's personality are a superb material for a great biographical and art book. The result is amazing. I found the description of Paris in the background an added bonus. I wish there were more photos in the book. If you feel the same, go to the very personal Picasso museum in Paris, or/and watch the movie Life with Picasso (with Anthony Hopkins).

I'm a huge fan of biographies and art. Given this book as a present from a friend, I LOVED it. It makes one wonder - how do biographers DARE write about people they never knew?! This is such an intimate portrait of a man - by a woman with an insight into what made him tick and an appreciation of his talents both artistic and human. Although Picasso is portrayed as an egomaniac, abusive and unapproachable - which no doubt was a part of him - the general public tends to overlook the intricacy of his personality and the reasons behind his behavior. Francois Gilot gave such a beautiful portrait of their relationship - and although it may just be the romantic side of me - I believe their love was true and she understood him and related on a somewhat more equal plane than any of his other lovers. Read the book - it's not the average Picasso's a jerk book.

Gilot's representation of her time with Picasso is obviously the product of in depth journals. The potrayal of his monologues and mannerisms are detailed to a very fine degree. Overlooked, by the majority of reviewers of this work, is her painstaking detail into his artistic process. The level of detail she provides regarding the techniques Picasso used eclipses any other Picasso biography. Gilot documented his work with oils, sculpture, etching and many other mediums. Always the focus of reviews are Picasso as the great abuser, the great manipulator. Focus always seems to placed on the physcological aspects of his art, his life and their relationship. Seldom is the emphasis placed on the technical nature of this work. It is a large portion on this book. It is what really makes it worth the read...

For all the importance of Call Centers, Help Desks and Support Networks, not much attention is given them in industry literature. It's almost as though these functions are an afterthought, as though the first support call might come in and someone would say, "Oh, yeah. We need someone to answer these, don't we?"

This book is the first I've seen that looks at the building of a Support Center from the ground up, from budgeting to staffing, to training and retention, support software to development and dissemination of updates. It does so logically, step by step, providing sound reasoning and justification on each page, even to the point of including a complex and reasonable metric for determining staffing levels.

I thought Tourniaire and Farrell fell somewhat short of giving the Support field a complete analysis, concentrating as they do on larger call centers rather than giving weight to the whole spectrum of support providers, like Internal Help Desks or smaller tech centers. Their initial thesis, on the Front Line/Back Line vs. One Hand models of support, is sound, but limited, giving no attention to the possible hybrids or any other models of support center. On the other hand, their description of the call completion cycle is thorough and unlike any I've seen. I also like the idea of writing a "Support Agreement" for one's clients, so everyone knows up front what is and is not covered.

Overall, this is a very fine book and I would recommend it to Support professionals, especially to anyone just starting a new Call Center. Better to have all the info to start than to try and switch focus after ramping up.

Strong coverage of Escalation, Service Design, Measuring & Metrics, Scheduling, Staffing, Kinds of Support, Surveying Clients, Workflow.

Weak/silent on Phone Skills, Call Monitoring, Time Management, Teamwork, Support Systems.

This book is aimed at software product support specialists working for software vendors, but is also applicable to internal IT tier-2 support specialists (application support analysts). Some of the information contained in this book will give internal IT help desks ideas on customer satisfaction, support models and help desk management. However, this is not the book's primary audience.

My review is from the viewpoint of an IT service delivery specialist. Product support specialists will have a different, but loosely related, set of requirements.

The theme of this book is achieving customer satisfaction. This surfaces early in the book and recurs throughout. Since customer satisfaction is the foundation of support, regardless of from whom of where it is delivered, I found this to be one of the highlights of the book.

Call management models outlined by the authors were valuable to me, and I found myself writing notes in the margins and highlighting paragraphs. I skimmed call management implementation because it is outside of the scope of my speciality, but did note that this information would be of interest by anyone who is setting up an internal IT help desk. It goes without saying that this material will be of keen interest to product support organizations that are setting up a call center. One nice touch here is the advice on disaster recovery planning - this is too often overlooked by all organizations and showed the attention to detail that the authors gave when writing this book.

The discussions on packaging support programs and product call center support organizations gave me insights into the challenges faced by software vendors. These insights have armed me with information from which to craft an approach to effectively deal with vendors who are typically at tier-3 from an internal IT point of view. Another section that I found particularly useful covered managing software bugs and code fixes. This material is directly applicable to internal IT tier-2 support, regardless of whether they are dealing with internal developers or outside vendors. There are some gaps here, though. For example, I would have liked a discussion on configuration control boards, prioritization of fixes and enhancements, and configuration and change management. These subjects are important to software vendor product support organizations and internal IT tier-2 folks.

This book also provides sound advice on selecting, justifying and implementing call center tools. Some of these tools are specific to product support call centers (and to an extent, internal IT help desks), such as phone systems and knowledge bases. Other tools, such as bug tracking and problem reproduction environments, are useful to IT tier-2 specialists as they are to call centers.

I found some of the appendices to be especially valuable: Appendix C, determining staff levels, and D, creating and justifying a support center budget, were excellent reading that added to my own professional knowledge.

Overall this is a valuable book that has multiple audiences. Aside from the gaps I mentioned above, I think this book needs to be updated to reflect the growing requirement for e-support. While I was tempted to give 4 stars based on the noted shortcomings, this book is so thorough and rich with ideas and advice that it deserves 5 stars. I only hope that the authors update this book with a second edition that addresses current realities of software support.

The best kind of book is one that shakes you up, makes you think--leaves you with an idea or a phrase that you'll never forget. Ms. Hartman delivers all that and more in her first book, foreign ear. The narrator's wit is subtle, caustic, and smooth all at once, giving the reader a chance to view Arizonans (and Americans at large) through the eyes of an utterly unforgettable alien. The book is also a breeze--whether loving or hating it, I couldn't put it down, and that is the ultimate praise.

As an American, I have never realized what it must be like to move to another country and make your way. This is a beautiful story that also gave me insight as to what is must be like to move to another country, leave your family and find your place. Ms. Hartman writes of an interesting women on an interesting journey - I look forward to her next novel.

In 1831-32 the Frenchman Alexis Tocqueville (1805-1859) spent nine months observing America. His astute perceptions as a foreigner allowed him to view the land, people and culture with new depth and richness. Ms. Gayet-Hartman follows in this tradition. With each chapter the reader gains insight to the overlooked and unappreciated attributes of living in America today.

We applaud this work and anxiously look forward to her next book.

This is a charming series of stories with delightful illustrations which has captivated two generations of readers in our family - my wife when she was a child, and now our daughter. They are faithful reprints of the original story and illustration, and are perfect for the toddler to 5 age group. We are hoping that more of the stories are brought back into print soon.

Jeanne-Marie was one of my favorite books as a child. I have wanted to buy a copy for years, and was happy to discover that it had been re-published. The stories will take children to a charming time and place, with lovely illustrations.

This is a subtle novella of 17-year-old Cécile, recently released from a convent school and enjoying a semi-dissolute life while living with her playboy father and his mistress de jour, Elsa. She lives only for the day, and is untroubled by her failure on her examination. She is looking forward to years of pleasure and irresponsibility, until Anne, a friend of her mother's comes onto the scene and endeavors to change, nay tame, Cécile and her father.

The conflict begins with Anne's response to Cécile's throwaway remark that the young girl makes when her father and mistress adjourn for an erotic interlude, which the older woman found to be vulgar. Cécile soon finds that Anne has made her (Cécile) one of her projects. The plot thickens, much like the motif of the summer's heat and humidity in the southern France setting of this novella. Cécile has her own agenda, including havig a love affair with a young legal student.

This simple novella by Françoise Sagan makes a nice story in describing how her teenaged protagonist reacts toward being tamed by the serious and possibly officious older woman. All of the major characters are well-drawn, and we are lured into a sympathy for each. It has the tone of tragic inevitability that makes the dénouement ring true; but is quite lyric and compelling. Sagan rings true in her sense of the adolescent, and BONJOUR TRISTESSE makes for a very rewarding work to read.

Francoise Sagan is a brilliant French writer, who here has written an intriguing novel about a young lady's 'coming-of-age' while on holiday by the sea. What I appreciate about Sagan's works most of all is her style. She writes very subtly, almost tenderly at times, but what comes out of these impressions is incredible clarity into the inner human workings and spirit. She deals with huge and incredibly moving emotional matters and life-changing experiences with such grace. Perhaps only French writers writing in French can do this (but this English translation maintains some of the original affect). It's like the hidden waters of the subconscious are feeding Sagan's stories, and especially 'Bonjour Tristesse' with eternal messages about life, love, fear, uncertainty, and Destiny. The parvenu paramour in 'Bonjour Tristesse' finds love without becoming jaded by the experience. Yet, she leaves us with elegiac afterthoughts. This is just brilliant literature.

Francoise Sagan is a brilliant French writer, who here has written an intriguing novel about a young lady's 'coming-of-age' while on Holiday by the sea. What I appreciate about Sagan's works most of all is her style. She writes very subtly, almost tenderly at times, but what comes out of these impressions is incredible clarity into the inner human workings ans spirit. She deals with huge and incredibly moving emotional matters and life-changing experiences with the grace of an unassuming, yet very beautiful bouquet. Perhaps only French writers writing in French can do this (but this English translation maintains some of the original affect). It's like the hidden waters of the subconscious are feeding Sagan's stories, and especially 'Bonjour Tristesse' with eternal messages about life, love, fear, uncertainty, and Destiny. The parvenu paramour in 'Bonjour Tristesse' finds love without becoming jaded by the experience. Yet, she leaves us with elegaic afterthoughts. This is just brilliant literature.

The clumsy, poorly written text in the first few chapters is almost impossible to read. Since it's so disjointed and quotes too much from Cezanne's personal letters or from other writings, I skipped over a large portion of this. I was also surprised that the authors tried to make Cezanne into some sort of religious deity, rather than a master of his art; it could be marketing hype accompanying the show, but Cezanne's work speaks for itself. In spite of these flaws, the painting and sketches are wonderfully reproduced, and the accompanying description is pretty good. But because the accompanying description is always laudatory and doesn't adequately talk about his mistakes, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between Cezanne's masterpieces and his OK work. The best part is learning what other artist, such as Monet and Matisse, owned what Cezanne painting (and then trying to speculate on why they liked a painting so much).

Picasso, speaking about modern art and artists, referred to Cezanne as "the father of us all." He was that rare artist whose vision -and ability to express it- was so keen and unique that it can actually impact the way we se the world around us. (How often I look into the trees and think "that looks like a Cezanne.") More than any other book of his work this volume succeeds in showing the sweep and depth of Cezanne's genius. The reproductions are superb and plentiful. The descriptive text accompanying each image, while interesting, needs to be taken with a grain of salt, as is often the case in catalogues of this nature. But the truth is I buy art books for the pictures! For text, try Rewald's book which is also excellent and contains some paintings not elsewhere printed, and deals extensively with the relationship between Cezanne and Zola. I also recommend Gotz Adriani's book on Cezanne. But if you can only have one, this is it.

This is a must for art lovers, in general, and for 19th cent. french art lovers, specifically. Rich in colour images and a detailed editorial on each piece. Also gives the history of ownership.

Absolutely wonderful. A must.

This is an attractive coffee table book. It is not as informative as I had hoped, though. The text is poorly written and just doesn't get into the depth I was looking for.

I laughed, I cried, I made cheese

Bernard Nanet, such a wonderful author. His book is so wonderfully told that it took all my self restraint to keep from eating the pages. His story telling skills are unmatched. The only person I know who knew half as much about cheese was my father who used to work on a dairy farm and he still didn't know as much as Bernard Nanet. This book completely blew me away. It is phenomenal.

Well, I guess Sagan's best novel is "Bonjour Tristesse" and this book is the second best. It's indeed touching and true to life. It's about the love which the two hove lost, such things really happen in our life. It's extremely sad and it makes you cry a bit if you are sensitive. It shows pure feelings. It's nice

Seeing that Amazon.com can be accessed throughout the entireworld, there are probably many people out there reading this articlenow who have never been to Paris. Although I have never personally lived among a group of people such as those depicted in La Chamade, Francoise Sagan gives us her insight into the lives of the people of Paris at the time that she was writing the novel. Through the eyes of Lucile, a young Parisian woman longing to find happiness, we begin to see a group of Parisians amongst which she spends a lot of her time. At a dinner one night with these friends, she encounters the young Antoine. In an attempt to find true happiness, she pursues a relationship with him, and then eventually learns more about what the true meaning of happiness really is for her. A very good book, and one that anyone from the intermediate-level French student to the native French speaker would benefit from. END

As terribly weary as I am of "pink novels", this book is far beyond the "romance" - it borders the philosophical/existential. It is not so much about Paris or particular characters or Lucile's meeting her lover - they are all just symbols used to question the search for happiness, and the terror of the routine. So convicing I couldn't put it down. But I don't think it makes you cry. Rather it makes you think. Lucile is fascinating, a weak/strong free/prisoner we've all met in real life. The rise of passion, the end of hope. What to surrender to, what is a victory, what is a capitulation? It is a story of disallusionment and my (Russian) translation of it was titled "Signal for Capitulation", which is strangely appropriate. No phisolophical answers in this book, no Kierkegaard-like essays, just vague questions, and quite a bit of pleasure.